Paper drinking cup



March 21, 1933. ov c 1,902,717

PAPER DRINKING CUP Fi led Jan. 11, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Abra/7am Na /ck.

A TTORNE Y8 March 21, 1933. A. NOVICK PAPER DRINKING CUP 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 11

INVENTOR Abra/1am Nov/ck.

ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 21, 1 933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ABRAHAM 'NOVICK, OF FLUSHING, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO UNI'l."ED STATES ENVELOPE COMPANY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE PAPER DRINKING CU]? Application filed January 11, 1930. Serial H0. 420,128.

This invention relates to paper drinking cups adapted to be nested and stacked in a container and to be Withdrawn singly from the bottom of the container as they are required for use. a

It has been proposed heretofore to make a one-piece paper drinking cup having a substantially circular mouthpiece, tapering sides and a linear bottom, the cup being formed from a sector-like blank upon a' wedge shaped mandrel or former. In such construction the edges of thepaper blank are first turned over into overlapping relation and pasted to form a longitudinal seam and the material at the bottom of the blank is then folded upward about a transverse line and pasted against the outer face of the cup material.

While such prior construction can be manufactured economically and forms a very satisfactory cup in use, it has been found that,

in the application of a substantial gripping pressure to oneor more cups within it and thus cause a plurality of the cups to be withdrawn simultaneously.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a cup having the advantages of simplicity and economy inherent in the prior construction but including the further feature of advantage that a gripping area of reduced thickness is provided adjacent the lower end of the cup. With such a construction the cups nested Within the outermost one do not offer a firm body for the exertion of gripping pressure against them, and hence there is substantially less likelihood of pressure being exerted against an inside cup sufficient to cause it to be withdrawn from the stack with the outermost or bottom cup of the stack.

To the attainment of this end, it is a feature that the cup embodying the principle of the present invention is formed from a sec tor-like blank, that the lower end or bottom flap portion is first folded upward along a transverse line and that the cup material 'is thereafter turned inward to form the longitudinal seam. With such a construction, a triangular area 'at the bottom of the cup is provided having only two thicknesses of paper, and this area is bounded along its 'upper edges by portions of greater thickness which serve to. space the gripping area out of engagement with, or at most in but light contact with, the gripping area of the next adjacent outside cup of the stack. With this construction the stack has no firm core in the gripping area of the outside cup against which pressure may be exerted. It does, however, have a rather stiff and substantial core beginning just above the gripping area of the outermost cup. Since the lower extremity of the outermost cup is yielding and the core is relatively unyielding, the squeezing together of the lower ends of the opposite 'walls of this cup causes these lower ends of the walls to converge sharply just below the relatively. stiff and solid core and hence causes displacement of. this cup longitudinally with reference to the stack, thereby assuring the separate Withdrawal of the cup.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings forming j part of this specification Figure 1 is a perspective View of a drink-. ing cup embodying the invention;

Figure 1A shows a stack of nested cups of the kind illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view showing a-complete cup blank before folds ing, together with a portion of the mandrel or former;

Figure 3 is an end View of the mandrel or former and the blank as shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the flap material folded upward about the edge of the former;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but shows the process of manufacture carried one step further, one of the side Wings being turned in in this view; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but shows the cup completed and ready for removal from the former.

The beginning of the process of forming the cup is illustrated in Figure 2. v In this figure, disclosure is made of a wedge shaped former 1 .and of a sector-like blank 2 positioned beneath the former. While the blank at this stage is simply a flat piece of paper it is convenient for the purposes of the subsequent. descriptionto regard it .as sub-t divided into a body portion 3, wings 5 and 6, and a bottom flap having a central portion 4 and side or wing portions 7 and 8,-the latter forming integral extensions of the wings 5 and6 respectively. Actually, no crease is everformed between the body portion3 and the wings 5 and 6 so that the line of demarcation is very indistinct, but for the purposes of the description the body portion 3 may be regarded as terminating substantially in line with the boundaries of the former 1 as shown in Figure 2.

Prior to association of the blank 2 with the former 1, the wing 5 is smeared with adhesive along its left hand and lower margins, and the wing 6 is smeared with adhesive 10 along its lower margin.

' It will be noted that if, in the forming of the cup, the'wings were ,first folded in, asxin the prior construction referred to, there would result an overlapping of the material of the bottom flap upon itself with the resultthat the greatest thickness "of paper would occur adjacent the lower end of the mandrel. The overlap of the wings, moreover, would extend to the very bottom of the cup and on into theside portions of .the bottom flap material with the result that there would be numerous thicknesses of the material-right at the bottom edge of the cup when the bottom flap is subsequently folded upward. This result is avoided by the present method and construction, and instead the lower extremity or gripping portion of the cup-is made thinner and more flexible than the portions which liealong-the upper boundary thereof.

The first step in the formation .of the cup is illustrated in Figure 4 in which'th'e lower end or bottom flap of the blank has been folded upward about the transverse line 11 defined by the edge of the wedge shaped former 1. This folding operation places the side portion 7 of the-bottom flap in contact with a portion of the adhesive '9 on wing 5 and the side portion 8 of thebottom flap in contact with a portion of the adhesive 10 on 'wing 6. The wing 6 is next-turned inward as shown inFigure 5,'the portion of adhesive 10 which escaped engagement with the side portion 8 4 of the bottom flap being thus The final step in the formation of the cup consists in the turning of the wing 5 from the position of Figure 5 to that of Figure 6.

This causes a portion of the adhesive 9' along the lower marginof wing 5 to come in contact with the outer face of central portion 4 of the bottom flap andthe remainder of the adhesive to come in contact with the outer longitudinal margin of the wing 6, The parts of the cup are pressed together in this position to cause the adhesive to become, effective and the cup is then removed from the former and conducted away to form a member of a. nested stack of such cups.

I It will be observed upon in'spectionof Figure 1 or Figure 6' that atriangular area 12 is provided adjacent the lower edge of the cup in which the cup material consists only of two thicknesses of paper, that is, of the body 3 and the'central portion 4 of the bottom flap. Immediately adjacent this area along thev upper right hand boundary there-v of, the cup material includes the body 3, central portion 4 of the bottom flap, wing-6 and sideportion -8 of the bottom flap while along bodya, central portion 4 of the bottom flap, wing 5 and side portion 7 of the bottom flap. Just above the upper vertex of this triangular area the thicknesses of. material are even 'more numerous, including as they do the.

in the gripping area'of the-outermost cup.

They also combine to form a relatively solid and stiflcore starting just above the gripping area of the outermost cup. -A nest of cups constructed as described, is adapted, for the reasons previously stated, substantially to assure that the cups will be withdrawn singly from the bottom of the nested stack.

- While'I have illustrated-and described one I preferred form of my invention it is understood that the. invention may be embodied.

in other structures. I do not, therefore, desire to limit myself to the specific construction shown. i

I claim: 1

1. A paper drinking cup comprising a secthe upper left hand boundary. it includes the tor-shaped body portion, a body flap folded I upward toward the bottom portion, and wing portions turned over without creasing into overlapped relation with'and secured adhe sively-to the outer face of the bottom flap just above the lower margin thereof, forming a cup of normally distended open form, tapermg to a straight linebottom closure, portions of the walls of the cup adjacent said bottom;

- tions.

2. A paper drinking cup of tapering width having sector-shaped body and wing portions, a bottom flap having central and side sections forming extensions of the body and wing portions respectively, said bottom flap being folded upward about a transverse line. to form a straight line bottom closure, and the wing portions being turned over without creasing and adhesively secured to the outer face of the bottom flap, and being overlapped and adhesively secured to one another, to form with said body portion a substantially elliptical self-distended cup, the walls of the cup adjacent the bottom closure and throughout the greater portion of their area being of a uniform thickness.

3. Apaper drinking cup having a sectorshaped body portion, wing portions, a bottom flap having central and side sections forming extensions of said body and win portions respectively, said side sections being folded upward against the wing portions to increase the thickness of the material alongthe lower margins of the wing portions, and the wing portions being turned inwardly against and adhesively secured to the outer face of the central section with the lower margins of the wing portions extending at an upward inclination, said wing portions being also overlapped and adhesively secured to one another forming a cup of self-distended open form tapering to a straight line bottom closure, portions of the walls of said cup adjacent said straight line bottom closure corresponding in thickness to the greater portion of the walls of the cup, the walls of said cup directly above said bottom portions being substantially thicker.

4. A paper drinking cup comprising a sector-shaped body portion and a bottom flap folded upwardly toward the body portion to form a straight line bottom closure, the edges of said body portion being turned over without creasing into overlapping relation with.

the outer face of the bottom flap and being overlapped and adhesively secured to one another to form a cup of normally self-distended open form, the walls of said cup adjacent the bottom closure and throu bout the greater portion of their area being 0 a single ply of material.

5. A paper drinking cup comprisi a sector-shaped body portion and a bottom ap folded upwardly toward the body portion to form a straight line bottom closure, the edges of said body portion being turned over without creasing into overlapping relation with.

the outer face of the bottom flap and being secured thereto to form a cup of normally self-distended open form tapering from an open mouth to the straight line bottom closure, the walls of said cup adjacent the bottom closure and throughout the greater portion of their area being of a single ply of material. A

. 6; A self-distended normally open paper drinking cup formed from a blank havin a bottom flap, the latter being folded upwardly to form a straight line bottom closure and the edges of said body portion being brought into overlapping relation with the outer face of the bottom flap without creasing and being secured thereto to form a cup of normally distended open form taperin from an open elliptical-shaped mouth to t e straight line bottom closure, the walls of said cup adjacent the bottom closure and throughout the greater portion of their area being of a single ply of material.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature to this specification. 

